Less than 72 hours after Mario Saint-Supery shocked the Gonzaga Bulldogs by leaving to sign with Valencia in Spain, former New Mexico and UCLA point guard Donovan Dent made a similarly surprising announcement: he plans to come out of his brief retirement and return to college basketball for a fifth year.
Dent, whom Gonzaga pursued heavily before his transfer to UCLA in 2025, began the process on Friday – joining an injunction request filed in the state of California.
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The filing is for high school class of 2022 members to secure a fifth year of eligibility following the NCAA’s new ‘5-in-5’ rules, which gives student-athletes five years of competition but was written without retroactively applying the rule to last year’s graduates.
Dent is one of many well-known players joining the injunction in California, which is being handled by notorious attorney Darren Heitner.
Joining Dent in pursuing a fifth year of eligibility is his teammate at UCLA last year, Skyy Clark, as well as former Saint Mary’s, UConn, and Santa Barbara guard Aidan Mahaney, Michigan State forward Jaxon Kohler, Pepperdine, LMU, and Missouri forward Jevon Porter, Oregon State and Texas guard Jordan Pope, Grand Canyon wing Jaden Henley, and Yale sharpshooter Nick Townsend, among many others.
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What it means for Gonzaga
Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Mario Saint-Supery. | Photo by Myk Crawford
Gonzaga went hard after Dent last offseason prior to his commitment to UCLA. The Zags pivoted after that and brought in Saint-Supery, but with the Spanish guard headed back home – and the point guard market drying up quickly – Dent is the obvious choice to bring to Spokane.
And what point guard wouldn’t want to play for a team that features an elite, highly efficient low post scorer in Braden Huff, a bone-crushing screen setter and rim runner in Massamba Diop, and a rising superstar offensive wing in Davis Fogle? Not to mention Isiah Harwell, a tough-nosed defender who will handle the opposing team’s best guard, and, of course, one of the best coaching staffs in the entire country.
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Other teams will certainly covet Dent, but Gonzaga is in a unique position as a team desperate for a starting point guard who can promise an immediate starting role, plenty of NIL money thanks to Domantas Sabonis and the loss of Saint-Supery, and a real chance to compete for a national title with an incredibly strong roster.
While LSU or St. John’s or others may be able to dazzle Dent with big money, Gonzaga offers the complete package – and will have point guards lining up left and right to come play for coach Few in Spokane next season.
However, none carry the upside Dent does, making him priority number one for this staff as they await the results of this injunction for fifth-year seniors.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as Donovan Dent files for fifth year as Gonzaga searches for a point guard.
